Circular-knitting machine



Dec. 21 1926 1, 11,404

H. E. BEARD CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 13 1924 Her/51 Beard Pa a -D...2 1, 192s.

1,611,404 UNITED STATES, I PATENT orrica.

HARRY BEARD, or READING, rENNsYLvANIa, nssreivon troirrrn nonnn AND HORST COMPANY, or- REAQING,'PENNSYLVA1\TIA, A CORPORATION or PENNSYL- VANIA,

CIRCULAR-KNITTING mAoHIivE.

Application filed September 13, 1924. Serial No; 737:460.

My invention relates to circular knitting machines adapted. to continuously knit two yarns into the body of a fabric; and myob ject is to provide for' automatically positioning these continuously knitted-in yarns so that one or the otherwill appear upon the surface in certain portions of successive courses. as required for the production of vertical stripes Without floating of either arn. I y To this end my invention provides for 'modifying the form of certain of the sinkers and needles commonly employed in such machines so as to cause in determined-wales a reversal of the normal positions of the regularly fed yarns during the drawing of the latter through previously formed loops; thereby displaying different yarn in such wales from that displayedby the normal action of the unmodified elements with re sulting stripe-effects; as fully set forth in connection with the accompanying drawings and clearly defined in the subjoined claims;

Fig. 1 is a partial sectional elevation showing part of a known knitting machine, with an ordinary sinker and knitting needle indicated on one'side and my special sinker and cooperating n'eedle on the other; the section being on the line 1--1 of Fig. 2. 3

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan viewindn eating the circles of needles and sinkers, with the special sinkers shown in heavier lines and the cooperating needles setout of normal circular alinement.

- Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate respectively an ordinary sinkerv and a special sinker; and

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate respectively an ordinary needle and one that ls'specially set in to cooperate with a special sinker.

7 a diagrammatic view indicating the run" of the yarns 'to' the needles; and

, Figs. 8, '9, 1O diagrammatically indicate the positioning of the two threads durlng nor mal knitting, while Figs. 11, 12, 13 diagrammatically 3.]l1dlCfltG the reversed relation thereof which is automatically effected by the special sinkers and cooperating needles. Fi 14 is an enlargedfabric view indicating dlerent exposed yarns in the normally knitted and specially knitted wales; I All the needles, a, a, are vertically moved as usual in the needle cylinder A; by cams in rin B, to form the knitting wave indicated; an all the sinkers arev also moved in radial lines between the needles as usual while the two yarns c and .d are continuously fed through their respectivegguidefingers e' and f to continuousl double-yarn fabric. I

Both the ordinaryfiformbf sheet-metalyknit them 'jointly into a.

sinkers indicated in Fig. 3, and my special form 11 shown in, Fig, 4, may have the usual contour so far asthe lower guiding and camengaging portions are concerned; but the.

contour of the-upper yarn-supporting portions is essentiallydifi'erent. The thread supporting edge/10 of the ordinary sinker 10 is substantially a straight horizontal line,

fand adownwardly and outwardly inclined receiving notch 11*, whereby the relative positions of the needle-lowered yarns is reversed as compared With the knitting effectedon the ordinary sinkers 10. The needles a and a differ only in that the special ones ,a have their hooked ends" set inward from the normal needle circle so as to prop erly cooperate with the s ecial sinkers 11 in reversing the positions 0 yarns.

The action upon the two threads, of the ordinary sinkers and needles shown in Figs. 3 and 5 respectively, is illustrated in the diagrammatic views Figs. 8, 9, and 10 as uniformly positioning the darker colored of the two threads on the outer surface of the fab-' ric, as in fact occurs; Fig. 8 indicating the relative positions of the two threads in the hook of araised needle; Fig. 9 their retained position in the thread receiving notch 10 of I the advanced sinker 10, and on the hook of the lowered needle a as it is about to be drawn through a previously formed loop indicated; and Fig. 10 indicating thelater retained relation of the yarns whereby said (dark) thread is uniformly presented upon the outer surface of the fabric during suchetermined accomplish this without interference with. p

the usual continuous operation of the machine. 'This I have accomplished by simply changing the yarn-contacting contour of determined sinkers as described and cooperatively varying the positions of the hooks of adjacent needles, as indicated respectively in Figs. 4: and 6; 'and the diagrannnatic views Figs. 11, '12, 13 show the apparent action upon the yarns in effecting such actual reversal of their positions in corresponding wales of the fabric structure.

The described changes in the usual sinker' (dark) thread is initially deflected inwardly as indicated in Fig. 11. As the needle descends and the sinker is moved inward as usual, the lower (light) thread in the needle is caused to ride upon the curved hump 11 of the special sinker, into the downwardly slanted notch 11 thereof, so that the upper (dark) thread will be positioned inward of the fabric instead of outi vard, and with the eiiect of showing a different thread in the wales having such special sinkers and needles and thus producing corresponding longitudinal stripes.

It will be seen that my invention thus provides in a very simple manner for automatically producing vertical stripe effects by determinedly reversing the relative positions of the two continuously knitted-in threads, without floating .either of the latter.

While the difierent thread-supporting contour of the special sinkers is adapted to exert the desired position-reversing action upon the two yarns as stated, so as to produce a stripe effect, it will be understood that the specially set cooperating needles serve to insure such'completeand uniform reversing of the yarn positions as is required to produce a high class product.

What I claim i 1. A circular knitting machine comprising a series of vertically reciprocated needles, a circular series of radially reciprocated sinkers, and means for continuously feeding two yarns to all of said needles; one set of said sinkers having a thread-supporting contour adapted to position the yarns seated thereon by their corresponding needles in one determined knitting relation, and another sct of said sinkers having a different thread-supporting contour whereby the yarns seated thereon by their corresponding needles will be reversely positioned relatively; the needles corresponding with said second set of sinkers having their hooked ads out of circular alinement with the other needles. L 4

In a circular knitting machine comprising a number of yarn-feeds and a circular series of vertically reciprocated needles continuously operative upon two yarns; a circular series of radially reciprocated sinkers comprising two sets of differing contour, each sinker of one set having a substantially horizontal yarn-supporting edge and receiving notch, while each sinker of the second set has a humped yarn-supporting edge witl a downwardly and outwardly inclined receiving notch, and the needles corresponding with said second set of sinkers having their hook-end portions out of circular alinement with the other needles; whereby the two yarns are reversely positioned in the knitted web.

In testimony whereofi affix my signature HARRY E. BEARD. 

